Inspirations

"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." - John 10:7, 9-10

"The Christian faith is not true because it works. It works because it is true." - Os Guinness

PRAYER MOTIVATOR

"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." - James 4:3

"Some stand on tiptoe trying to reach God to talk to him – you try too hard, friend – drop to your knees and listen to him, he’ll hear you better that way." - Ever Garrison

SOUL-WINNING MOTIVATOR

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." - Mark 16:16

"Lost! Lost! Lost! Better a whole world on fire than a soul lost! Better every star quenched and the skies a wreck than a single soul to be lost!" - Charles Spurgeon

4 Ways to Increase a Bad Credit Score

April 07, 2014

After struggling for years with credit issues, you’ve put a plan in place to develop a budget, pay your debts on time, and spend wisely. You’re doing all you can and you’re ready for a fresh start, but your credit score is still not where you’d like it to be.

What now?

Here are a few tips for getting an added boost to your credit score.

1) Ask for an increase in your credit line. Your credit utilization ratio — the percentage of available credit you’re using — accounts for 30% of your FICO score. By increasing the amount of unused credit, you can raise your score. However, before you do this, ask whether the issuer will run a credit check. Note that if your credit-card issuer requires a credit check before granting an increase, you could possibly lower your score.

When a potential lender requests a credit report (due to you voluntarily applying for credit), this is considered a “hard” inquiry, and it might cause you to lose roughly five points from your FICO score. If you have a short credit history (few accounts) and several hard inquiries have been made over an extended period of time, you’re more likely to lose a few points. But if you have a long credit history, and relatively few hard inquiries, you may not be affected at all. A “soft” inquiry, which is when you pull your own credit report, does not affect your credit score.

2) Check your credit report. It’s been said over and over by financial experts, but it’s an important piece of advice that many people don’t follow. In a recent study, the Federal Trade Commission found that as many as 42 million Americans have errors in their credit reports. And some who had credit reporting errors corrected saw their score change by as much as 25 to 100 points. If you haven’t seen your credit report lately, go to annualcreditreport.com to get it right now — it’s free.